Fence machine



Aug, 6, 1946. E. KEHRER ET AL 2,495,257

FENCE MACHINE Filed Aug. 11, 1944 '7 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESS ES! INVEN TORS ATTORNEYS.

' Aug. 6, 1946.

E. KEHRER' E1- AL FENCE MACHINE 1944 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11

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Patented Aug. 6, 1946 FENCE MACHINE Ernest Kehrer, Belle Vernon, and Clifi'ord Faust, Monessen, Pa., assignors to Pittsburgh Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 11, 1944, Serial No. 549,108

9 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for making welded wire fabric, hereinafter referred to as fence, and more particularly to a machine of the general type shown in Perry Patent No. 813,823.

The Perry patent shows a fence making machine in which a plurality of parallel vertical strand wires are intermittently fed upwardly through the machine while a single horizontal. cross wire is intermittently fed across the strand wires. The cross wire is cut periodically at one end of the machine to form a stay wire that is then transferred sideways into contact with the strand wires to which it is welded while the cross wire is again fed across the machine. The strand wires then move upwardly a distance correspond ing to the desired distance between the sta wires, following which the next stay wire is welded to the strand wires in the same way as the previous stay wire. This machine is used extensively for making welded wire fence, but it has the disadvantage that only one stay wire at a time can be welded to the strand wires. The rate of production of the Perry machine can not be increased by merely doubling the number of cross wires and the mechanism that handles them, because his stay wire transfer mechanism would then interfere with feeding of the cross wires across the strand wires.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a machine for making welded wire fence in which a plurality of stay wiresare simultaneously welded to strand wires, in which new stay wires are formed as the preceding set is being welded to the strand wires, in which several stay wires can be formed and Welded to the strand wires substantially as quickly as a single stay wire,

and in which fence can be produced at a materially faster rate than heretofore.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front view of our machine with the strand wire guide rollers omitted; Fig. 2 is a view of the left end of the machine; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the right end; Fig. 4 is a still further enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary rear view of one of the picker fingers and the supporting bar; Figs. 6, '7, and 8 are fragmentary vertical sections all taken on the-line AA of Fig. 1

but showing the stay wire transfer mechanism in three different positions; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line IXIX of Fig. 1; and Fig. 10 is a front view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 9. V

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the machine has a pair of end frames I and 2 that are rigidly connected in front by a long horizontal plate 3 provided on top with a clove tail rib 4. The end frames are connected centrally by horizontal beams 5 and 6. The tops of the end frames support a rotatable horizontal shaft I on which a plurality of grooved wheels 8 are rigidly mounted. These wheels are provided with radial lugs 9 (Fig. 2) spaced apart the same distance as the stay wires of the fence being made by this machine. Parallel strand wires II] are led from coils rotatably mounted in front of the machine to grooved guide rollers journaled in the lower front part of the machine. These coils and rollers, which are of conventional form and well known, are not shown. The wires pass under the guide rollers and then straight up through, the machine to wheels 8 over which they travel before passing down to a reel I I journaled in brackets I2 projecting from the back of the end frames.

As shown in Fig. 2, the machine is driven by a belt I3 that extends around a pulley I4 supported by bracket I2 at the left end of the machine. This pulley carries a pinion It which meshes with another pinion I'I supported by the same bracket, and the second pinion drives a large gear I8 mounted on the projecting end of a horizontal shaft. I9 which is journaled in bearings 2 I in the lower rear portions of the two end frames. One of the spokes of this large gear is provided with a radial slot 22 in which the lower end of a vertical rod 23 is slidable. The upper end of the rod is pivotally connected to the outer end of an arm 24 the inner end of which is oscillatably mounted on the end of top shaft I. This arm is provided with a spring-presed pawl 26 for engaging a ratchet wheel 21 rigidly mounted on the top shaft. The ratchet wheel is prevented from rotating in a reverse direction by a springpressed dog 28 pivotally supported byv the adja cent end frame. It will 'be seen that every time gear I8 makes a complete revolution, it oscillates arm 24 and thereby rotates the top shaft a few degrees to feed the strand wires ahead the necessary distance.

The top shaft also projects beyond the right hand end frame 2, and its projecting end hasv a ratchet wheel 30 rigidly mounted thereon, as shown in Fig. 3. Encircling this wheel is a loose pulley 3I that carries a spring-pressed pawl 32 which is engaged by the teeth of ratchet wheel 3% so that the pulley is turned by the wheel every time the top shaft is turned. Pulley 3| is connectedby a belt 33 to another pulley 34 (Fig. 1)

shaft 38 journaled in the lower part of end frame l. Rigidly mounted on the front end of this shaft is a short arm 39 on the outer end of which a pawl 7 All is pivotally mounted. One end of this pawl normally is urged by a spring into engagement with a ratchet wheel 4| rotatably mounted on the outer end of shaft 38. Rigidly connected'to this ratchet wheel is a pinion 42 (Fig-1) that meshes with a gear 43 rotatably supported by a bracket 46 projecting laterally from the end frame. Gear 43 drives another gear 45 also supported by the same bracket, while rigidly connected to the rear side of the second gear is a pinion 4! that meshes with another pinion 48 on the front end of a horizontal shaft c9 journaled on a pedestal bearing The rear end of this shaft carries a bevel pinion 52 (Fig. 2) that meshes with a similar pinion 53 on the lower end of a vertical shaft 54 also supported by the pedestal hearing. The upper end of shaft 54 is journaled in a bearing 59 supported by a horizontal I-beam 51 the opposite ends of which are supported by end frame I and by the top of a vertical I-beam 58 resting on the machine foundation.

. Rigidly mountedon vertical shaft 54 is a pair of large grooved feed rolls 60 that substantially engage a pair of smaller grooved feed rolls 6| in front of them. The smaller rolls are carried by 4 pressing down on top of the bar. One side of the cutter frame is provided with an opening into one side of its vertical passage, and the bar is provided with a transverse slot 78 beside that opening. Projecting into this slot is the lower end of a, bell crank lever 19 that is pivotally supported .byjthe cutter frame. The upper end of this lever is pivotally connected to the inner end of a link 8] that has its outer end pivotally connected to the upper front end of an actuating lever 82, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The central portion of lever 82 is pivotally mounted on the outside of end frame I, and its lower end rides against the inner face of big gear Ill which is provided with a boss 83 for-periodically swinging the lower end of the lever toward the end frame. This movement causes the lever to pull the link and therearms 62 which are pivotally supported by brackets 63 projecting laterally from the vertical I- beam. Threaded through the outer ends of these arms are hand screws E4 that bear against the brackets for adjusting the pressure of the smaller rolls against the larger ones. The horizontal cross wires 65 and 65 are delivered to the two sets of feed rolls from reels and straightening mechanism (not shown), and are fed by the rolls across the machine in front of the vertical strand wires. Once during each revolution of arm 39 the projecting rear end of its pawl strikes a stop 61 on the end frame and is thereby swung out of engagement with ratchet wheel 4! so that the ratchet stops rotating for a moment. This causes the feed rolls to stop, which means that the feed of the horizontal wires across the machine is intermittent.

The feed rolls deliver cross wires 55 and 69 to a. pair of vertically spaced cutters that sever them every time their forward motion is interrupted, which, according to the timing of the machine, occurs every time the leading ends of the wires reach the oppositeor right end of the machine. As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the frame H of the two cutters is supported by and behind ribbed plate 3 close to the inside of end frame I of the machine. This cutter frame is provided'with a vertical passage through it with a bar 12 slidably mounted therein. The bar has a pair of vertically spaced extensions 13 and 14 projecting rearwardly through slots in the frame. These projections are provided with horizontal openings which, in their normal lower positions, are in line with the cross wires that pass through them. Bar 72 is normally held in its lower position by a leaf spring 16 connected to the top of the cutter frame and by swing the lower end of bell crank 19 upwardly. This raises bar 12 by which the cross wires are lifted up against stationary knives 84 and 85 projecting downwardly and rearwardly from the cutter frame, whereby the wires are severed in order to produce stay wires 86 and 81 (Figs. 1, 6, 7, and 8) of predetermined length.

As the cross wires travel across the machine before they are out, they are supported and guided by two vertically spaced rows of laterally spaced guide members through which the wires pass. These guides are mounted on the rear sides of a pair of parallel cross bars 90- and 9| supported at their opposite ends by inverted L- shape :bars 92 the upper'front ends of which are clamped to rib 4 of cross plate3. A vertically spaced pair of these guide'members is disposed in front of each strand wire (Fig. 1). As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, each guide includes a metal block 95 connected to the cross bar in front of it and provided with a wire-receiving slot 96 extending across its lower side. The bottom of this slot normally is closed by a jaw 91 having upright ears that are pivotally mounted on a pin 98 extending through the block. The jaw is urged toward its upper closed position by coil springs 99 behind it, but it can be swung downwardly away from the slot by pressing the wire in the slot downwardly against the jaw, thereby permitting the wire to be removed from the bottom of the slot.

The vertical strand wires travel across two vertically spaced rows of electrodes llll supported behind them by beam 6. Directly opp site these electrodes and disposed in a vertical plane normally in front of the guide member slots 96 is another set of electrodes I02. Electricity is supplied to' the two sets of electrodes in the usual manner through transformers H13 suspended from the electrodes. Each vertically spaced pair of front electrodes is carried by a block I04 supported .by the rear end of a horizontal rod I06 slidably mounted in'the front and rear portions of a horizontal beam I01. The rod is urged rearwardly' by an encircling coil spring I08 compressed between the front portion of the beam and a shoulder on the rod. Rearward movement of the rods is limited by stop nuts I99 threaded on their outer ends and normally engaging the front of the beam. The opposite ends of this beam are slidably mounted in horizontal guideways Ill (Fig. 1) in the front portions of the end frames of the machine. The beam is reciprocated in these guideways, in order to move the front set of electrodes toward and away from the rear set, by a pair of horizontal rods H2 the front ends of which are connected to the ends of the beam The'rear ends of these rods are pivotally connected to the central portions of verti- .5 cal rocker arms H3 that are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the inside of the adjacent end frames, as shown in Fig. 3. The lower portions of the rocker arms are bifurcated and carry rollers II4 that engage cams II6 rigidly mounted on bottom shaft I9. Rotation of these two cams therefore swings the lower ends of the rocker arms back and forth and thereby reciprocates beam III! in the end frames of the machine.

As soon as a pair of stay wires has been formed in front of the strand wires by cutting the two cross wires, which stopped just long enough to be cut, the stay wires are quickly removed from the guide members and transferred to the strand wires to which they are welded. By the time this has occurred and the strand wires have been moved upwardly by wheels 8, a new set of stay wires is ready to be welded'to the strand wires. Handling of the stay wires, just before the welding operation, is accomplished by what is known as a picker mechanism. The frame of this mechanism is formed by a pair of vertically spaced horizontal rods I 26 extending across the machine in front of the strand wires above and below the guide members with the ends of the rods rigidly mounted in a pair of vertical bars I2I, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, 9, and 10. Each of these bars is provided near its top and bottom with pins I22 projecting laterally through a pair of slots I23 in a vertical guide plate I24 near the adjacent end frame of the machine, These guide plates are supported by brackets I26 and I2'I projecting forward from the end frames and beam 5, respectively, the guide plates being connected to the brackets by pins I28 projecting laterally from the top and bottom of the plates into short horizontal slots I29 in the brackets. The left hand guide plate is provided with notches I36 through which the cross wires extend.

The guide plate slots I23 have vertical upper portions and rearwardly and downwardly inclined lower portions. Pins I22 are moved up and down in these slots by levers I3I that are pivotally connected to the inside of the end frames. The front ends of these levers are pivotally connected to forked links I32 oscillatably mounted on the upper rod I26 of the picker mechanism next to the end bars. The rear ends of the levers are operatively connected by vertical rods I33 to eccentrics I34 (Figs. 1 and 3) mounted on bottom shaft I9 adjacent the rocker cams.

Guide plates I24 are moved back and forth in bracket slots I29 by means of short horizontal rods I36 projecting from their rear edges. Each of these rods is slidably mounted in a pair of spaced brackets I3! projecting inwardly from the adjacent end frame of the machine. The central portion of the rod is reduced in diameter to provide shoulders near its ends between which and a sleeve I38, slidably mounted on the center of the rod, a pair of coil springs I33 are mounted. The ends of the sleeve are encircled by integral collars between which the sleeve is straddled by the bifurcated lower end of a bell crank leve I4I. This lever is pivotally connected to the adjacent end frame of the machine. The upper end of the lever is connected to the upper end of an inclined rod I42 that terminates in a bifurcated member I43 straddling bottom shaft I9 beside the adjacent rockercam H6 (Figs. 1 and 3). Mounted on the side of this member is a cam follower roller I44 that engages acam I45 fastened to the bottom shaft. When rod I42 is reciprocated by cam I45 lever I'4I is oscil- 6 lated and. its lower .end therefore pushes against one of the collars on sleeve I38. This pressure is transmitted through the adjoining spring I39 to the rod I36 which is thereby moved either forward or backward to move the adjoining guide plate I24 in the same direction.

Connected to .picker frame rods I20 at points midwaybetween the strand wires are the ends of vertical picker bars I53. As shown in Figs. 4 to 8, each .of these bars is provided in one side with a pair of vertically spaced L.-shape recesses I5I,-at one side .of .the rear end of each of which there is a projection of the bar to which a, picker finger I52 is pivotally connected. These fingers are. spaced apart the same distance as the stay wires. The rear portion of each finger below its pivot is provided with a notch thatcooperates with a similar notch in the adjoining portion of the bar for receiving a stay wire. Each finger also has its front end urged upwardly by a coil spring I54 connected thereto and totheupper end of the recess. When the picker mechanism is in its upper position the upper row of these picker fingers is above the top staywire and the lower row of fingers is between the two stay wires. When levers I 3i move the picker bars downwardly, the stay wires are gripped by the fingers and forced out of the bottoms of slots 96in the guide members. After the stay wires have been thus freed from the guides they are moved downwardly and rearwardly into contact with the strand wires in positionsdirectly in front of the rear electrodes. As this occurs, the front electrodes are moved back against the stay wires to hold them against the strand wires, as shown in vFig. 7, while guide plates I2'4 are moved forward by rods. I36 to cause the picker fingers to be released from the stay wires. As soon as the picker fingers leave the stay wires, welding takes place at the points of intersection of the stay and strand wires.

After the guide plates and the rest of the picker mechanism have been moved forward away from the welded wires, levers I3I raise end bars I2I in slot I23 of the guide plates to elevate the picker fingers above the new stay wires that have been fed into the guide members in the meantime. Rods I36 then move the guide plates back to their rear position so that the picker fingers can again be lowered to engage the new stay wires and transfer them to the strand wires for welding. Fig. 8 shows the empty picker fingers in their forward position about half way between their upper and lower positions as they are being raised. While this is happening the electrodes are separated and the strand wires with the stay wires that have been welded to them are moved upwardly a pre determined distance.

The operation of this machine will now be reviewed. As strand wires II] are pulled upwardly across rear electrodes IEII by means of wheels 8, the cross wires and 66 are fed across the machine in front of the strand wires by means of feed rolls 60 and GI. These cross wires pass through the openings in cutter bar extensions I3 and I4 and through slots 96 in the two rows of gripping members. When the leading ends of the cross wires reach the opposite end of the machine, the pawl 40 on continuously rotating shaft 38 strikes stop 6'! (Fig. 1) by which it is moved out of engagement with ratchet wheel II. This stops the rotation of the feed rolls for a moment, and while the cross wires are stationary the lower end of lever 82 is struck by boss '83 (Fig. 2) on large gear l8, thereby causing the upper end of the lever to pull cutter lever 19 to the left. The lower end ofthe. cutter lever is therefore moved upwardly and, byreason of its projection into slot 18 in cutter bar. 12, .it raises the bar and its extensions 13 and 74 and thereby forces the cross wires against knives 84 and 85 by which the wires are cut to form stay wires 86 and 81.

While the cutter bar is returning toits original position,. levers I3I start to move the picker fingers I52 downwardly from their Fig. 6 position. The path of movement of the fingers is determined and controlled by the slots I23 in guide plates I24 at the opposite ends of the machine, because pins I22 on the end bars I2l of the picker frame slide in those slots. The downwardly moving picker fingers snap onto the two stay wires supported by the guide members and then force them down out of slot 96 in those members by pressing the wires. down against jaws 91 which are thereby swung down and away from the slots. As soon as this has occurred,

pawl 40 again engages ratchet wheel 4| which:

causes the feed rolls to resume feeding of the cross wires across the machine, and through the empty guide members. While this is going on, the picker fingers continue to move the stay wires downwardly and then rearwardly until the stay wires engage the strand wires in'front of rear electrodes lfll, as shown in Fig. 7. In the meantime, the. strand wires have stopped moving, due to large gear I8 reaching a position in which it is moving arm 24 upwardly so that pawl 26 slides over the teeth of ratchet wheel 21 instead of turning the wheel.

By the time the stay wires have engaged the strand wires, the front electrodes I02 have been moved toward the rear electrodes by means of cross beam I07 which is reciprocated by the cam actuated rocker arms H3. The two sets of wires are gripped between the two pairs of electrodes and held tightly together, whereupon guide plates I24 are moved forward by short rods I3ii which are actuated by cranks MI and cam actuated rods I42. The picker frame is carried forward with the guide plates, the picker fingers opening and releasing the stay wires as they are pulled away from those wires. As soon as the fingersare freed from the stay wires, electric current is sup-- plied to the electrodes for welding the stay wires to the strand wires at their points of intersection. Beam I! is then moved'forward again to separate the two pairs of electrodes. At the same time, levers I3I start moving the picker frame upwardly in guide plate slots I23, as shown in Fig. 8. Due to the guide plates being in their forward position at this time, the picker fingers do not strike the cross wires that have been fed into the guide members in the meantime, but pass in front of the wires. After the picker fingers have risen above these cross wires, rods I36 move the guide plates back to their original position, shown in Fig. 6, in which the picker fingers are again directly above the cross wires and ready to move downwardly to grip those wires as soon as they have been severed by the cutters.

As soon as a pair of stay wires have been welded to the strand wires, feeding of the latter is resumed, whereby the welded stay wires are raised with the strand wires a predetermined distance to make way for the next set of stay wires which are about to be welded to the strandwires. When the spacing between the stay wiresofthe'fence is to be the same as thedistance'between the cross 8 wires, the strand wires are moved upwardly twice that distance after each welding operation. This locates the lowest stay wire the same distance above the upper electrodes as the next bottom stay wire 81 will be below them, so the next top stay wire 86 will be half way between the stay wires 81 directly above and below it. On the other hand, if the spacing between fence stay wires is to be one-third the distance between the cross wires, 'for example, then the strand wires are moved upwardly two-thirds that distance each time. The upper electrodes will weld a stay wire half way between each preceding pair of stay' wires, thereby making the space between the wires only one-third the distance between the upper and lower electrodes. Other spacing between the stay wires can be obtained in like manner by advancing the strand wires the proper amount, but care must be taken not to let the stay wires welded by the lower electrodes stop between the upper electrodes. Also, by making this machine larger, it is obvious that three or more stay wires can be welded simultaneously to the strand wires in the same manner as two are shown in the drawings.

Amachine constructed in accordance with this invention can produce welded wire fence much faster that it has been made before because it can form a plurality of stay wires and Weld them to the strand wires about as rapidly as earlier machines have been able to form a single stay wire and then weld it in place. When several stay wires are welded to the strand wires at the same time, a longer section of fence is thereby and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the, scope of the appended claims, the invention may be prac- 'ticed otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim: 1. A wire fabric making machine, comprising means for intermittentlyand simultaneously feeding a plurality of parallel vertical strand wires lengthwise, means for intermittently and simultaneously feeding a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal wires across the front of the strand wires in spaced relation thereto, means for cutting said horizontal wires at one side of thestrand wires while the horizontal wires are stationary to thereby form a set of stay wires in front of the strand wires, means for detachably gripping the set of stay wires and moving them rearwardly into contact with the strand wires, and horizontally movable welding electrodes for engaging the contacting strand and stay wires at their intersections when the strand wires are stationary to weld them together, said horizontal wire feeding means resuming the feeding of the horizontal wires before said gripping means leave said stay wires, and means for moving said gripping means forward away from the contacting strand and stay wires and vertically in front of the newly fed horizontal wires; preparatory to engaging a new set of, stay wires.

2,. A wire fabric making machine; comprising means for intermittently and simultaneously feeding a plurality of parallel vertical strand wires lengthwise, means for intermittently and 9. i simultaneously feeding a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal wires across the front of the strand Wires in spaced relation thereto, means for cutting said horizontal Wires at one side of the strand wires while the horizontal wires are stationary to thereby form a set of stay Wires in front of the strand Wires, pickers for moving the set of stay wires rearwardly into contact with the strand Wires with each picker including vertically spaced wire-gripping fingers connected by an upright bar located in front of the forward position of the stay wires at all times, and welding electrodes for engaging the contacting strand and stay wiresatthir intersections when the strand wires are stationary to weld them together, said horizontal wire feeding means resuming the feeding of the horizontal Wires behind said picker bars while said stay wires are gripped by the picker fingers.

3. A wire fabric making machine, comprising means for intermittently and simultaneously feeding a plurality of parallel vertical strand Wires lengthwise, means for intermittently and simultaneously feeding a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal wires across the front of the strand wires in spaced relation thereto, means for cutting said horizontal wires at one side of the strand wires while the horizontal wire are stationary to thereby form a set Of stay wires in front of the strand wires, pickers for moving the set of stay wires downwardly and rearwardly into contact withthe strand wires with each picker including vertically spaced wire-gripping fingers connected by an upright bar located in front of the forward position of the stay wires at all times, horizontally movable welding electrodes for engaging the contacting strand and stay wire at their intersection when the strand wires are stationary to weld them together, and means for moving said picker bars forward away from the contacting strand, and stay wires and then upwardly followed by a rearward movement to their original starting position, said horizontal Wire feeding means resuming the feeding of the horizontal wires behind said picker bars while said stay wire are still gripped by the picker fingers.

4. A wire fabric making machine, comprising means for intermittently and simultaneously feeding a plurality of parallel vertical strand wires lengthwise, means for intermittently and simultaneously feeding a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal wires across the front of the strand wires in spaced relation thereto, means for cutting said horizontal wires at one side of the strand wires while the horizontal wires are stationary to thereby form a set of stay wires in front of the strand wires, pickers for moving the set of stay Wires rearwardly into contact with the strand wires with each picker including vertically spaced wire-gripping fingers connected by an upright bar located in front of the forward position of the stay wires at all times, means for moving the picker bars first downwardly to engage said fingers with the stay Wire and then downwardly and rearwardly toward the strand wires to place the stay Wires against the strand wires, horizontally movable welding electrodes for engaging the contacting strand and stay Wires at their intersections when the strand wires are stationary to weld them together, and means for then moving the picker bars forward away from the contacting strand and stay wires, said horizontal wire feeding mean resuming the feeding of the horizontal wires behind said picker bar before the picker tically spaced gripping fingers pivotally connected to each bar and projecting rearwardly therefrom across thestay wires, means for moving said' bars vertically to engage said fingers with the stay wires and then rearwardly to place the stay wires against the strand wires for welding, and means for moving said bars forward to separate said fingers from the stay wires, said bars then being returned to their original position.

6. In a welded wire fence making machine in which horizontal stay wires are moved rearwardly toward vertically movable strand wires and then welded thereto, means for thus moving a plurality of vertically spaced stay wires simultaneously, said means comprising a plurality of horizontally spaced vertical bars, a plurality of vertically spaced gripping fingers pivotally connected to each bar and projecting rearwardly therefrom across the stay wires, vertically spaced members connecting the upper and lower ends of said bars, means connected to one of said members for reciprocating it vertically to cause said fingers to periodically engage stay wires in their path, means for guiding said bars toward and away from the strand wires as the bars are reciprocated vertically, whereby said fingers place the stay wires against the strand wires for welding at their points of intersection, and means for reciprocating said bars horizontally to separate said fingers from the stay wires engaging the strand wires.

'7. In a welded wire fence making machine in which horizontal stay wires are moved rearwardly toward vertically movable strand wires and then Welded thereto, means for thus moving a plurality of vertically spaced stay wires simultaneously, said means comprising a plurality of horizontally spaced vertical bars, a plurality of vertically spaced gripping fingers pivotally connected to each bar and projecting rearwardly therefrom across the stay wires, vertically spaced members connecting the upper and lower ends of said bars, means connected to one of said members for reciprocating it vertically to cause said fingers to periodically engage stay wires in their path,

means for guiding said bars toward and away from the strand wires as the bars are reciprocated vertically, whereby said fingers place the stay wires against the strand wires for welding at their points of intersection, and means connected to said guiding means for reciprocating them horizontally to separate said fingers from the stay wires engaging the strand wires.

8. In a welded wire fence making machine in which horizontal stay wires are moved rearwardly toward vertically movable strand wires and then welded thereto, means for thus moving a plurality of vertically spaced stay wires simultaneously, said means comprising a frame in front of the strand Wires, a plurality of horizontally spaced vertical bars mounted in said frame, a plurality of vertically spaced gripping fingers carried by each bar and projecting rearwardly therefrom across the stay wires, guide members at the opposite ends of said frame provided'with guide slots, means for reciprocating said members horizontally, said frame being provided with projections extending into said guide slots, and means connected to the frame for reciprocating it vertically, said slots in their rear position guiding said fingers into engagement with the stay ,wires and then rearwardly to transfer the stay wires to the strand wires for welding thereto, said guide members bein moved forward after the stay Wires have engaged the strand wires,and said slots and guide member reciprocating means'then returning the frame to its original position.

9. In a welded wire fence makin machine in which horizontal stay wires are moved rearwardly toward vertically movable strand wires and then welded thereto, means for thus moving a plurality of vertically spaced stay'wires simultaneously, said means comprising a pair of vertically spaced horizontal rods, vertical bars rigidly connecting the ends of said rods together, vertical guide plates disposed beside the outersurfaces of said end bars and each provided with a pair of vertically spaced slots, each slot having a vertical upper part and a downwardly and rearwardly inclined lower part, mean projecting from said end bars into said slots for sliding movement engthwise thereof, means for periodically moving said guide plates forwardly and rearwardly, means for periodically lowering and raising said rods and end bars as a unit relative to the guide plates, a plurality of vertical picker bars connected at their ends to said rods, and a plurality of vertically spaced picker fingers projecting rearwardly from each picker bar and adapted to temporarily grip said stay wires to move them downwardly and rearwardly into contact with the strand wires.

ERNEST KEI-IRER. 'CLIF'FORD E. EAUST. 

